Bills Beat Blog

Bills' Watkins active vs. Lions

by Joe Buscaglia,posted Aug 28 2014 6:02PM

The Buffalo Bills waited only one game before getting their first-round pick back on the field.

After he suffered a rib injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers a little under two weeks ago, Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins was declared active and will play against the Detroit Lions. Watkins returned to practice without any limitations on Monday which led to his clearance for the preseason finale.

The Bills will be without nine players in their matchup with the Lions at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, left guard Chris Williams, cornerback Corey Graham, tight end Scott Chandler, safety Jonathan Meeks, tight end Tony Moeaki, cornerback Mario Butler, tight end Lee Smith and cornerback Bobby Felder were all declared inactive for the team's last exhibition contest.

The Bills adjusted their lineups accordingly and will start Cyril Richardson at left guard, Chris Gragg at tight end and Ron Brooks at cornerback. The team will also start rookie linebacker Preston Brown in the weakside role, which is likely a move to get him more time on the field for the upcoming regular season game with the Chicago Bears due to starter Nigel Bradham's one-game suspension.

The Lions will have a much different starting lineup than they will in the regular season. Detroit's offense will only have four of their original starters playing, while their defense will have six.